TransPlants, 2024
4k color video with sound, 7’:25’’

• Agreement fac similé : 2x printed A4 paper, caligraphy rice paper.
  38 × 65 cm + frame from recycled wood

This work consists of a video and a contract, it is part of the Cura Series, where the artist is performing actions of care for plants in the urban environment.

On November 30th, 2023, the artist purchased 16 plants of 15 different species to free them from the captivity of a flower market and from the planters that enclosed their roots. This rescue journey entails a certain motion. The artist operates the transport to the final destination using a minimalistic electric tricycle all across the hectic traffic of the Asian metropolis.

The car-chasing sequence shows the quirky manner in which Missika navigates amidst the speed of the city. The feeble convoy of plants that he carries reveals the constant micro violence one body suffers in the city environment. If humans alike are disturbing their reciprocal boundaries, how will the limits of plants not be systematically crossed?

The action concludes when Missika arrives – not without distress – at the destination and he unloads the planters in their new home: the backyard of a gallery space. The selected species join other fellow veteran plants, and all together breed a micro-forest, diverse and dense enough to contribute to the rewilding.

The video work is accompanied by an agreement that specifies the duties of the guardianship of the plants in this garden. The "care" of the new neighbors will be understood in the widest meaning, which entails: watering, cleaning, repotting, trimming, or any action that the plants might need until the ultimate transplant.